From the printing press to the telegraph to the camera and beyond, technology has always been tied closely to journalism. In The Technology of Journalism, Patricia L. Dooley proposes a history of news that heeds the social and cultural environments in which both technology and the press emerge and exist.

            By placing this history solidly in its cultural context, Dooley can explore the effects of shifts in social, economic, and political systems and the impact of war. One such development with far reaching implications was Matthew Brady’s use of photography during the Civil War. Growth or decline in readership can also influence technological changes in journalism; most recently, the shift toward digital and Web-based journalism has reshaped the press.

            Finally, Dooley assesses the legacy and future of print, deciding what happens to print journalism—and all forms of reportage—will depend on the willingness of industry leaders to innovate in ways that will help them connect, through their reporting, to Americans of all ages and walks of life.

Patricia L. Dooley is a professor of communication at Wichita State University and the author of Taking Their Political Place: Journalists and the Making of an Occupation and The Early National Period: Primary Documents on Events from 1800 to 1820. She lives in Wichita, Kansas.